1 December 2009 Sue Young

The Flying Puzzle

Sold out 2009 Limited Edition Set of 30.
Original Price: AU$175.00

Last sold Puzzle Paradise auction Jan 23 Euro 575

A new slant on the original idea of what a sliding block puzzle should be designed by Dries De Clercq.

Brian first encountered Dries’s designs when he spent many puzzling hours trying to solve Dirk Weber’s Exchange Puzzle from IPP28 in Prague. This inspired him to contact Dries who then told him he had designed another 20 versions of his new slant on the original idea of what a sliding block puzzle should be.

What got Brian so interested was the supposed simplicity of the puzzle. > Very few pieces, just three. > Very few rules, just three. 1. Start with blocks in the starting position marked. 2. Move only one block at a time into any position it will fit. 3. End with the block in the finishing position marked.

The puzzle is chosen from a series called “Flying Block Puzzles” designed by a Belgian named Dries De Clercq. To date Dries has designed no less than 21 levels of this puzzle. Brian has chosen two of the harder puzzles; the same set of two “T”s and one “L” make a different puzzle on each side of the puzzle frame.

Dries says, “I love to make hard puzzles with simple rules and Flying Block Puzzles are exactly like that! They look so simple. Only 3 blocks and 1 simple rule. But they’re not! The idea came up when I tried to find an alternative to sliding block puzzles.”

The double sided puzzle tray is made from Red Meranti. This wood from the Shorea family grows widely throughout tropical Asia, ranging from India to the Philippines and South to Papua New Guinea and Eastern Indonesia. The pieces are made from: “T” – Queensland Silver Ash “L” – Papua New Guinean Ebony “T” – Papua New Guinean Rosewood. The small knobs are made from stainless steel with decorative pewter collars.
Size of puzzle tray is: 180mm x 210mm x 20mm

Tags Dries De Clercq